Inferno Vent at Axial

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Inferno Vent is a black smoker located in the ASHES hydrothermal field on the summit of Axial Seamount. This video provides a brief overview of one face of this chimney, and then two close ups of the organisms living on the surface of this metal sulfide-rich structure. Inferno is 10 m away from the chimney called Mushroom, that is now instrumented as part of the Ocean Observatories Cabled Observatory. Here, live HD imagery is streamed live to shore from 5000 ft down and >300 miles offshore. Other core sensors measure the temperature and chemistry of the venting fluids, as well as earthquake activity. Credit: University of Washington, NSF-OOI, CSSF; V15.